


DRAGON!

by beccaelizabeth



Category: Highlander: The Series
Genre: Dragons, Gen, Norwich
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2000-02-02
Updated: 2000-02-02
Packaged: 2017-10-06 05:59:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/50431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beccaelizabeth/pseuds/beccaelizabeth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Norwich is known for its Dragon Hall.  Now the Dragon comes back...</p>
            </blockquote>





	DRAGON!

**Author's Note:**

> This was written a very long time ago. I actually still like this one though. It's fun.
> 
> Thanks to AC for the beta reading.
> 
> This archived version has a few apostrophe fixes.

The second Dereham earthquake was much more noticeable, and unexpected, than the first. Instead of sounding like someone falling out of bed, it knocked plates off shelves, put cracks in the sidewalk and left a nasty and surprisingly deep crater where a building site had been, all at two in the morning. It was top of the local news all week, until those two pigs grabbed the limelight in their bid for freedom. By the time the fires started, everyone had pretty much forgotten about it.

The first few fires were barns and haystacks near Dereham. They kept the fire brigade very busy. Various soot-covered firemen came forward to ask the arsonists to think about what they were doing, but since it was only property and farm property at that it was half way into the news and holding steady, as the porcine escapologists continued to hold the attention of the nation.

The first few reports of big dark wings in the night didn't grab anyone's attention. A few reporters noted that the arsonist seemed to be heading for the city, but nobody thought much of it. That was until something huge, winged and fiery swooped down on the square at the University, terrifying the students there, then sat on top of the Library warbling and flaring. That made top story almost right away. A camera crew got good footage of a big shadow belching flame from the library roof, then diving across the lake flaming and giving out a strange, ululating cry. Before a helicopter or official presence could get there, however, the thing disappeared, and despite the hysteria of the students who had been in the square, a lot of people had trouble taking it quite seriously.

The next day Duncan MacLeod got a laugh from the huge headlines in the papers as he sat in the balcony restaurant at the mall.

"Dragons. Yeah, right. Students with too much time on their hands more like," Methos commented as he sat down opposite him.

"I suppose you'd know all about that," Duncan teased the perpetual grad student.

Methos grinned back at him. "Why do you think I love Norwich? Longest pub crawls in Britain, and more holy ground per square foot than anywhere outside the holy land," Methos said. "So, have you found anything for Tali yet?"

"Not really. I was thinking of getting her an eye of the storm machine, but I think I saw Connor looking at it earlier. You?"

"I had a look in Inanna's Festival. Tali said if I bought her every book in there it might keep her quiet until next year." Methos smirked. "I put a couple of things aside. Richie was after computer games last time I looked. I rather think she's got all the ones she's interested in though."

A vague sense of Presence with no one in view to cause it suggested that the other Immortals were on the level below, so Duncan finished his coffee and stood. "It's not Dragon country around here anyway," he remarked, tossing the folded paper back on the counter as he passed. "Where would it find a treasure cave around here?"

They looked down across the main hall as they took the stairs and soon the others came into view by the fountain where they had agreed to meet up after lunch. Duncan and Methos made their way down to meet them.

"Find anything?" Duncan asked Richie and Connor.

"Nope, not really," Richie replied. "But we saw Amanda dragging Tali into yet another clothes shop. She didn't seem to be buying much though."

"_ Amanda _, not buying clothes?" Duncan questioned incredulously.

"Tali wasn't carrying anything," Richie amended. "Amanda had a bag from just about every shop in Norwich."

"I still don't see what's wrong with the way Tali dresses," Connor remarked.

"Yeah, I'm sure you think you're the height of Immortal chic, but jeans, sneakers and trenchcoat aren't exactly party wear," Methos teased the older Highlander.

"I've got to admit, the first time I saw you two together, you did look a _ little _ strange," Richie grinned. "I mean I can understand wanting to be like your teacher, but _ dressing _ like them?"

"She'll grow out of it." Connor shrugged with a mild (for Connor) warning look. Richie dropped the subject immediately.

That evening when they got home a relatively civilised argument could be heard drifting down the stairs.

"Tali, just for one evening, could you at least try a dress?" Amanda asked her.

"This is practically a dress."

"But the trousers ruin the whole effect." _ sigh _ "At least leave the coat here"

"The coat stays. On me," Tali said, her voice getting louder as the ladies headed down the stairs to greet them.

"What do you all think?" she asked, bouncing into the living room to show them. First she just held the coat open for a few seconds then wrapped it closed again and giggled, consciously making fun of Connor's 'flasher' coat. Then she let the coat hang open and did a twirl so they could all see her very plain but quite nice long, navy blue dress.

"It's great. Even with the trousers," Connor said.

Tali looked over at Amanda with a smug little grin, then went to collect a hug from Connor. Amanda just sagged against the door frame and rolled her eyes.

"Having fun?"

Amanda sighed theatrically and stretched out on the couch next to Duncan. "I have _ never _ known a woman less interested in clothes. I take her into all the best stores, and she insists on buying just the one outfit from the cheapest store in town!"

"Well it was the one I liked best. And I didn't want to strain Duncan's credit cards too much."

Amanda glanced at Duncan then got up hurriedly and headed for the kitchen. "Drinks, anyone?" she said brightly on the way there.

"Amanda..." Duncan growled as he got up and chased after her.

"He ought to know by now she only does it so she can make it up to him," Tali muttered, then turned back to the recently arrived guys. "Well? Are you going to get ready? If I'm all dressed up then everyone else has to be, too," she declared. The guys grinned and headed to their house.

Tali pinned a button that read '29 again' to her coat, secure in the knowledge that only Watchers and Immortals would really get the joke.

They all left for the restaurant just as the sun was setting.

They were at the last showing at the cinema when suddenly all six Immortals froze in their seats and lost track of their surroundings as a huge sense of Presence filled them. It was like nothing else in their experience. It roared through their minds like an express train and shook them to the core. When the Presence receded and they again became aware of their surroundings they found the room filling with smoke and the ways to the exits jammed full of panicking people. They quickly shook themselves and joined the exodus, the fire alarm shrilling in their ears until it cut out abruptly, the flame and heat becoming more evident by the second.

When they emerged into the street they found a scene that looked firebombed. The cinema, and every tall building in view, was topped with red gold flames. In the middle of the street was the burning shell of what had been a police car. Everyone was running, people streaming down from Castle Hill towards the River, desperate to get away from the winged presence behind them.

Another police car and a fire engine were fighting against the flow to try and get up hill, their sirens and lights going. Most people ignored them, but the crowd was thinning out already and they broke into a clear patch and sped up. Then suddenly, a huge winged silhouette dropped from the sky directly towards the fire truck. Everyone dived, screaming, out of the way. The Immortals stood in the doorway, frozen to the spot as the alien Presence washed over them again, watching in horror as the thing spit fire all over the emergency vehicles.

Cars and truck screeched to a halt as they were bathed in flames, the occupants diving out and desperately rolling on the ground to put out the flames. The leaping fires illuminated scaly, dark red hide and huge wings that spread to catch the newly created thermals. Light flickered over the great mask of its head from the fire rimmed nostrils, and its expanding sides looked feverish in the firelight. As it regained height, the Presence receded once more, the great wings beating as it went higher.

"Dragon..." whispered Duncan, barely believing his own eyes.

The red dragon gained height then dived down on to the castle roof. From there it set up an eerie, ululating cry, then it flamed the roof. Over and over its breath flickered out, until the lead ran and the beams caught fire. Then it sent one long plume of fire straight up into the night air and let out its clamour again.

Tali stepped back, almost fainting. "Goddess above and below preserve us..." she whispered. "That thing is _ challenging _ us!"

The Dragon cut off its cry and plummeted off the edge of the castle, down towards the mall. At the same time Duncan snapped out of his shock and started running up hill towards it.

"Duncan! Are you crazy?!" Amanda shouted after him.

Connor shoved Tali roughly towards Richie and Methos. "Get her back to the house," he said shortly and took off after Duncan.

"Connor!" Tali wailed at his retreating back.

Richie took her arm. "Don't worry, he'll be okay. But I think he'd take it personally if I didn't get you out of here right now."

"Right. Back to the house?" Methos asked.

"That's what he said."

"I was thinking of a bit further away myself," Methos muttered, but set off quickly towards their home, dragging a somewhat reluctant Tali with them, leaving Amanda behind.

As Duncan got closer to the mall the crackle of flames and the smoke in the air were augmented by the crash of falling buildings, breaking glass and little bits of dirt falling amidst the soot. He slowed down when he got near what he thought was sensing range, and Connor caught up.

"I know you don't like to back down from a fight, cousin, but this is ridiculous," Connor muttered, sword out more from nervous habit than any thought it would be useful.

Duncan also had his katana in hand. He looked down at it almost guiltily. "That's not what... we need to know more about this... thing."

"Dragon."

"There shouldn't be any such thing as dragons. None of us have ever seen one, they can't be real."

"How about you go and explain that to our scaly visitor. It is real, Duncan, deal with it. I would suggest, from another part of town."

Duncan peered through the darkness and murk, trying to make out the scaly form. The area around the mall was obscured by a cloud of dirt, drafts from the fire and the dragon's flapping wings whipping the mud about in the air. Duncan decided to change streets and try and get a view from elsewhere, and farther back.

"If it is Immortal..." Duncan paused to take in that thought. "Immortals are our problem, Connor. We can't let the police deal with it. However much they shoot it it's just going to get mad."

Connor was still following his cousin and ex student. He sighed. "I was hoping we could maybe confine our responsibility to the one species. The one that we can face with a sword and not end up flambéd."

They had made their way around to the street with the clock tower entrance to the mall, one that led to a long tunnel under the road. The entrance was completely demolished. They couldn't feel the dragon, but it was obvious it had been through there. Bits of melted glass were scattered all across the road. The clock tower looked like something had taken a bite out of it. It had been knocked over more or less in one piece, and now completely blocked the doorway. The clock hands drooped morosely, while the little wooden roof blazed away cheerfully on the other side of the road.

Noises from outside the mall had tailed off, now replaced by occasional scrapes and squeaks from inside. Duncan started climbing over the rubble to have a look inside.

"Be careful, it might sense..." Connor said, just as the Presence hit them. It was easier to stand this time, so Duncan could keep enough of his wits about him to dive off the rubble and take cover as a big jet of flame rolled up the corridor and out the top of the doorway.

There were ominous slithering noises, and what sounded like the bellows on a forge, moving towards them up the tunnel. Then a news helicopter beat its way into hearing and flitted overhead to get a good view of the mall, its big spotlight trained down on it. The noises receded again quickly, to be replaced by metallic crunching. Duncan and Connor quickly headed for the end of the street so they could get a good view.

The mall under the beam of the helicopter looked very different than it had that morning. Instead of a gleaming glass dome at the foot of a hill, there was a big scar in the hillside and a new, earth dome, with scattered bits of twisted metal suggesting the other entrances had fared no better than the clock tower.

The dragon poked its head out of the main entrance just as the two of them got into place. It looked up at the helicopter.

"Damn fools... they've just given it a target!" Connor muttered.

Indeed, the dragon was emerging enthusiastically now. It slipped out through the doorway almost like a snake, then stood in the street, puffed itself up big, and launched into the air. First it sensed what could be another of its kind, and now something that flew with a big bright fire on its nose was right above it. It headed straight for it. It missed the rotors on its way past by the narrowest of margins, then circled above it flaming. The helicopter pilot saw sense almost immediately. It turned off its light, turned tail and ran as fast as it could. The dragon did a little somersault in the air, let out a shrill scream, then headed back down to earth. It landed gracefully, flamed in the direction of its vanquished opponent, and slithered back inside.

The two observing Immortals looked at each other. Their first clear view of the dragon left them even less confident than before. Its body in flight was bigger than a bus, its flame jetting half its length again ahead of it, and its face was a mask that set off every primitive terror response they had. Two brave Highland warriors, reduced to shivering on the spot from the sight and Presence of the thing.

Suddenly another, more ordinary Presence hit them, accompanied by a slide of rubble and some mild swearing from down the street. They turned to see Amanda approaching them with a bag and some rope slung over one shoulder.

"There you are! Did you _ see _ that thing? You've got to be crazy if you're thinking of fighting that." Amanda declared as she walked up to them.

"Amanda?! What are you doing here?" Duncan asked.

She shrugged uncomfortable. "This hero stuff must be catching," she said as if the whole thing was hardly worth mentioning. "Anyway, I didn't really like the idea of you being turned into toast," she finished uncomfortably.

Duncan hugged her with the arm that didn't hold a sword. "It's a nice thought, but I don't think there's much more we can do out here. Let's..."

"Duncan," Connor interrupted, and pointed across the street. Lit by the little fires along the hill, a few silhouetted figures could be seen creeping across the road. One was carrying a camera. Duncan swore. He started towards them and then stopped, wary of his Buzz alerting the dragon. He started travelling up the hill obliquely, trying to get to the reporters without getting much closer to the mall. The others reluctantly followed him.

Pretty soon they got a good line of sight on the news crew. The camera man and the woman reporter were arguing, while the sound guy was carefully digging a little hole through the dirt so the camera could look inside the mall.

"I still say this is a _ very _ bad idea."

"Do you want to be stuck in local news forever? I know I don't. I get pictures of me with the dragon and the BBC will be begging me to sign on."

"And how is the BBC going to _ see _ those pictures? In case you haven't noticed the TV station is one of those big piles of burning rubble down the street, along with the police and the fire crews. We're alone up here. The cordon is the other side of the river, no one is stupid enough to come up here except us. The first thing the BBC will know about us is when they find our bones," The camera man hissed.

The reporter turned on her heel and went over to talk to the sound guy. "Harry, how are we doing?" she hissed in her idea of a whisper.

"Nearly there," Harry said much more quietly. "For the record, John is right. We are out of our minds. Aha!"

His careful excavation had got as far as the glass. Very, very carefully he widened the hole until it was a little bigger than the camera lens. The reporter peered in as the camera man focused on it. "I don't see anything. It's just too dark... in... there..."

The darkness had just blinked.

The reporter and sound guy backed away slowly. The camera man seemed frozen. Then a curious, crooning lullaby sound started coming through the glass. Reporter and sound guy looked at each other, then turned and ran for the river.

The cameraman just stood there, an expression of intense concentration on his face. He kept looking in through the camera, still focused on the dragon's eye. After a moment he tilted his head to one side and started nodding as if listening to instructions. The dragon song did sound strangely like words, words repeated just below the edge of hearing, like a song you know you'll recognise if you concentrate hard enough. After a moment, he let the camera slip to the ground with a thud, and started walking rapidly around towards the nearest door. It was buried under the dirt, but he leaned up against it and started pushing earth away. Duncan started to move forward, but before he could do anything the door was pried open from the inside and the man disappeared. Then the dirt piled on top of the dome slithered down over the door again.

"Damn. What does he think he's doing?" Duncan swore.

"It didn't look like he was _ thinking _ at all," Connor commented.

Amanda started walking up the street, still keeping out of buzz range of the dragon. Duncan caught up with her as she was thoughtfully uncoiling a bit of the rope and rooting around in her bag for something.

"Amanda?"

"You see that? The point of the top floor isn't quite covered up. There near the scaffolding, that bit with the construction office and that ghastly Victorian jewellery."

"You're not seriously thinking of going in there?"

"Well I could lower you in, but then I'd have to pull you and that other guy out again. Besides, this calls for sneaking. I'm sneakier than you are," Amanda said, trying for flippant but sounding not quite terrified.

"Amanda, you don't have to do this. The guy is probably breakfast by now, unless the dragon cooked him first," Connor said from the other side of her.

"I know. But he could be sitting in there, in the dark, alone with that... thing. I know, I can't exactly sneak up on it. But I can get closer to it, see what's going on in there. You know there are security staff in places like this."

"She's right." Duncan said reluctantly. "There could be people trapped in there. I'll have to go in there and look."

By now they were near the mound that didn't quite conceal the point of that end of the mall. Amanda started very, very carefully climbing up the side. "Duncan, I would love to let you do that, but I'll need you up here," she said, almost whispering now they were on the dragon's lair. "Besides," she added, reaching the top and seeing what size glass panes they had to fit through, "You'd get stuck."

She pulled some glass cutting equipment out of her bag and set to work, quickly and efficiently, her hands barely trembling. Duncan watched her, trying to gather some arguments to dissuade her. She really picked the most inappropriate moments to be brave. He was proud of her, but he also wanted to tie her up and get her well out of the way.

Connor watched the pair of them for a moment, then headed over to where some scaffolding stuck out of the mound and started pushing it around to test it. "We can loop the rope around here, it will help take the strain," he offered. Amanda got the glass free and placed it neatly to one side, then got out the harness and started strapping it on.

Duncan sighed and realised that if they were going to be bringing people out this way then they really did need his strength up there. As Connor fixed their end of the rope and Amanda finished tying hers, he grabbed her arm and swung her into a fierce embrace. "Just take care of yourself," Duncan whispered roughly.

Amanda hugged him back for a moment, then kissed him, short and sweet and very heartfelt. Then she stepped away and knelt down next to the dark hole in the earth. There was a little orange firelight and a few emergency lights inside. She held a pen light between her teeth but didn't want to risk dropping anything larger. She checked her sword was still nestled down her back and then looked back to make sure the MacLeod's were ready to take the weight.

Connor said "Good luck."

Duncan just looked worried.

Amanda turned away and swung down into the darkness.

The two Highlanders lowered her slowly, alert for any signal she might send up the line. Amanda had plenty of time to look around.

Just that afternoon she had been in the little Victoriana shop, very briefly, for long enough to note there was nothing worth looking twice at let alone stealing. Now the cheap jewellery was mingled with the melted glass, with probably much more value as modern art that way. The man sized teddy bear in uniform that had guarded the door was a little burnt pile of fur, with its severely mauled head on the opposite side of the corridor. The exit door was thoroughly buried, the tunnel to it leading to deep darkness.

All the way down she could see claw marks gouged into the metal where the dragon, presumably unable to fly in the enclosed space, had used the structure of the mall as a ladder. It also seemed to particularly dislike glass. Every bit she could see was smashed, melted or both.

She continued on down, alert for the first stirrings of Presence or any noise from below. As she passed the third floor she realised the rhythmic huffing at the edge of her hearing wasn't some huge fan somewhere, it was the dragon, breathing. She shivered and tried to think of a way she could get out of there and still live with herself. There were times she wished she hadn't bothered acquiring a conscience.

Second floor, and still the only sound was that maddening rhythmic puff, like someone working bellows. Really big, scaly bellows attached to a flame-thrower... She looked down into the dark. Below her the benches had been pushed into a neat circle off in front of a book store (which was burning nicely). Not just the benches from this area but some of the ones from the main seating area, along with cushions from a restaurant and scattered rubble that still bore the remnants of a map. She looked along the corridor and saw an orange glow outlining a scaly wing tip.

She was level with the ceiling of the ground floor now. She had not seen any signs of movement on the way down. If anyone was in here, she would have to go in looking for them.

She touched down on the ground floor. The rope continued to be lowered for a moment, then stopped. She was hesitant to unclip it, it felt like her safety line to the two MacLeods. Reluctantly she let the line drop. Manoeuvrability was important now, and the rope wasn't long enough to encircle the whole mall.

She could see the dragon now. Not the details, but the shape. A dark, sickly red colour, illuminated by the remaining fires and the underlighting on the fountain. It seemed to be facing away from her. At least, she couldn't see the head, just the wing and some scaly hide, coiled up in the plaza between the Early Learning centre and the Disney store. She glanced around again but, seeing no movement, she started to creep forwards.

Every step she took she expected to feel Presence, followed quickly by fiery death. She moved slowly, but always in the back of her mind was the knowledge that at least one man was in here with no way to get out. There could be others.

Suddenly, ahead of her, the dragon moved. She froze, then darted sideways into a doorway. The beast uncoiled ahead of her, first flattening its wings, then uncoiling a long, slender tail. Its scales scraped against metal and plastic as it moved out of sight. Amanda remained very still for a few moments more, listening as the sounds receded. Then, reluctantly, she moved forwards again.

She reached the point where the corridor widened out, and after taking a deep breath darted her head out and back again. There was no sign of the dragon there. She did it again, more slowly. Nothing. It had moved. Down the long passage towards the clock tower door, or up the escalators to the main exit? There was no way of knowing from where she was. Instead she gathered her courage and started to explore as far and as fast as possible.

The fountain was broken, the water pooling in the basin but the long rods it trickled down bent over and melted. Strangely all the coins people threw in for luck seemed to be gone. The main plaza was empty and smooth. All the benches had been cleared out, all the bins, the little marquee with the main maps on it, everything flat and smooth as far as the flickering light reached. She flicked on her torch and proceeded into the shadows towards the guard station.

A very nasty smell emanated from the room as she got closer. She slowed down, beginning to get the feeling she didn't really want to see. When she reached the door she slowly, reluctantly, peered in. Then she spun around and tried not to vomit.

The dragon preferred his meals cooked.

After a few moments she got her stomach under control and realised she was wasting precious time. She didn't know how long the dragon would be away, and if it got between her and the rope... she got back to the fountain and had to choose. Out, up or down? There was a bright light from down the lowest passage. Her hopes rose momentarily. Perhaps this corridor was too low for the dragon, and people were hiding here. She set off as quickly as she dared. She had to see this through.

She didn't have to go far before her hopes were dashed. The dragon could clearly fit down here. The light was the candle shop, the tallest of its stock still burning while the small candles were little puddles of wax. She stopped, about to go back, when she noticed a strange thing. Jewels and gold, glittering in the middle of the corridor. She took a few steps closer, and in the round space lit by the candle shop found a wondrous strange sight.

Under the earth covered glass tower was a neat, round arrangement of metal benches and tubing. Inside of that was a pile of treasures. Gold, jewels, anything that sparkled and shone and didn't burn. Letters from a jewellery shop sign were sitting amongst the bangles and bracelets. Rough crystals from the nature store shared a piece of floor with diamonds and emeralds.

"Not much of a hoard, but not bad for one days work," Amanda breathed.

A noise from above her snapped her out of it. Slithers and clanks, a dragon body fitting through the wide metal doors above. Almost immediately she was hit by the unclean Presence of it. The adrenaline rush overrode the confusion. She abandoned all attempts at sneaking and raced back for the rope.

She outran the dragon and the Presence almost faded for a moment, but that didn't last. It took her only seconds to get back to the rope, another second to clip it on, but by then the dragon had almost caught up. It could see her, and when she glanced back she saw it. She looked into its eyes, and forgot all about the rope.

The dragon's eyes were windows to eternity. She turned around to face it, all thought fading. A face like a grotesque mask was making its way slowly towards her, sliding, crawling along the too short space. It started to sing, and looking into its beautiful eyes all Amanda could think of was going to meet it. She took a hesitant step forward, the part of her that had kept her alive for 1200 years screaming at her to stop. She paused, shook her head from side to side, but she couldn't break away from the dragon's gaze. The song got louder, asking her questions, all the answers right there if she only listened hard enough... She stepped towards it again, and once more, before something brought her up short.

Above her the two Immortals heard the song almost when she did, but reacted very differently. After one quick look at each other they felt the renewed strain on the rope and pulled, as fast as they could. Amanda resisted for a moment, pulling towards the song. The two of them heaved on the rope, and off balance Amanda fell. It broke the spell. The next time Amanda glanced at the dragon all she was aware of was hot breath and hunger. She scrambled to her feet and started climbing the rope even as the Immortals above felt the Presence and pulled even faster.

The dragon couldn't quite get to her. It didn't puff fire either, just concentrated on getting itself out of the tunnel so it could reach up for her. Amanda climbed faster, all her years of experience combined with an adrenaline rush as bad as when Challenged. It was a race, and the dragon seemed to have all the advantages. Half way up, it was almost clear of the tunnel, and once in the open... One floor to go, and the dragon was free. It reared up on its hind legs and snapped at her. Her torch dropped from a pocket and hit it on the nose, giving her precious seconds as it ducked back and shook its head. She was almost to the roof when it tried again, planting its front claws on the railing of the second floor and pulling itself up, seemingly growing as it climbed. Amanda didn't waste time looking down, but her imagination provided the picture for her. The dragon at her feet, mouth gaping, teeth snapping at her heels... as Duncan reached in and grabbed her. They pulled her out, then rolled out the way and down off the hill, a jet of fire shooting out the hole in the roof behind them. They ran for it and didn't slow down until they were half way back to the house.

There were a few surprises around the house when they got back. The first was a large black motorbike, shiny new with no number plates and about twice as powerful as Richie usually rode. The second was what looked very much like the pole from a barrier in a car park, sticking out the back door at an angle with the heavy end propped up on the pile of bricks for the barbecue. There was a loud, regular clanging emerging from the kitchen. The three went inside to ask what was going on.

Richie and Methos were in the large kitchen. Methos was holding the end of the pole still where it lay clamped across the table. Richie was attacking the end of the pole with a hammer. When they felt the others returning they stopped and turned to greet them.

"Richie... what the hell is going on?" Duncan asked.

"I expected you would be ready to leave by now," Amanda said to Methos.

"Believe me, I tried to talk him out of this, but he wants to play the hero."

"Knight in shining armour?" Amanda asked as she headed for the drinks cabinet.

"Leather armour, but that's the idea," Richie confirmed, putting down the hammer and picking up the welding torch. The end of the pole now came to a point, several bits of kitchenware sacrificed to create a sharp end to this hastily assembled lance. Richie was about to finish fixing it all in place.

"You have got to be kidding," Duncan muttered. "Adam, you're actually helping him do this?"

Methos sighed theatrically. "Well, if he must take after you, someone needs to make sure he gets through it in one piece."

Richie put down the torch and mask and turned to Mac again. "Besides Mac, didn't you ever dream about fighting a dragon when you were a kid?" he grinned.

"Richie, this isn't a game. That's a real dragon out there." Duncan said.

"A real, huge, fire breathing roast you alive for lunch dragon with eyes that make you just want to please it," Amanda said, shuddering, as she gulped down her first drink and reached for a second.

Connor had gone looking for Tali. They stood in the doorway as Tali listened to Amanda's description of the dragon with interest. "The hypnotic gaze. It can really do that?"

"Yes," Amanda said shortly. She reluctantly put down her second drink, untouched, and turned to face the others. "If it sings to you, you are lost, and there is nothing you can do about it," she stated clearly. Connor went over and helped her sit down. She was still very shaken.

"It's like a dragon version of the Voice. We saw it talk a guy into digging his way in to be supper, and when Amanda went after him it nearly got her, too," Duncan said, then quickly told the other three what they had been doing.

"Talked?" Tali asked, flicking through the book she held with interest.

Duncan shrugged. "It just seems like words. Can't be, of course."

"Like it can't be a dragon Immortal." Richie pointed out. Duncan reluctantly acknowledged the point.

"That's really interesting. We've seen it fly, and fight, and now the hypnotic gaze. It seems the records are more accurate than I imagined," Tali said, looking up from her book. "This plan might really work."

"Thanks for the confidence," Richie said dryly.

"You know what I mean."

"What _ is _ your plan? Drive up and challenge it to a duel?" Duncan asked.

"Not quite. We wait until it's on the ground somewhere, I use this to turn it into a dragon kebab," Richie said, patting the makeshift lance. "Then I take its head. Simple. The only problem is getting it into position."

"If we set up right outside the mall that shouldn't be a problem. We can lure it out with a siren I think. That wailing noise seems to be the dragon equivalent of 'come and have a go if you think you're hard enough'," Tali said.

"What was your first clue?" Methos asked.

Tali frowned and went to sit next to Connor, clutching her book protectively. Connor glared at the ancient, who just smirked.

"Th-the only problem," Tali continued, not quite stuttering, "Is getting hold of a working siren."

"Car alarm," said Amanda and Richie in unison. Richie grinned at Amanda and continued on his own. "I should be able to find a little car, roll it into place and set off the alarm. Then I run for the bike..."

"No," Tali interrupted, then gulped. "I, uh, think I better do the siren part." The others stared at her. "Look, it involves setting it off and running away. I _ like _ the running away part."

"Natalie, you don't have to go anywhere near it if you don't want to. We can take care of it," Connor assured her.

"You're sure? Speaking from all your dragon fighting experience that you have hitherto forgotten to mention?" Tali asked, giving him a hard stare. "I think we should all go up there. Maybe not Amanda." She amended, seeing Amanda's stricken expression. "She has done a lot already. But all the rest of us."

"No, this is mad," Amanda interrupted. "You haven't seen that... that thing. We should leave it to the police or the army or something and just get as far away from here as we can."

"Amanda..." Duncan started, but she interrupted.

"No, you haven't looked at it. It's old and it's evil and it's hungry! We don't want to make it any more powerful! If you look in its eyes it wont matter if there are one or five or fifty of us, we'll just feed it!"

"You don't know that, Amanda," Duncan interrupted gently. "The first time there were three of them and two got away. Maybe it can only work the trick on one person at a time. If three of us go then that's enough that if one gets caught, one of us can get them away and the other can finish the fight."

"So three to chop its head off, Richie on the bike and me with the car alarm. That's everyone except Amanda," Tali asserted.

"No," Connor disagreed. "The women should stay here. We..."

Tali bopped him on the head with her book. "Will you _ stop _ being so mediaeval, old man? Protective is nice, but if I say I can do a thing, I can do it. I'll go."

"We'll all go. If we're going to fight it I want the best odds possible," Methos asserted.

"Leave it to the army," Amanda pleaded.

"Amanda, have you heard what they're saying on the radio? People keep phoning in to ask the RAF to shoot the dragon out of the sky. Once they know where it's living they'll want to bomb the place, and that will just make it mad. No one is going to go in and take its head, not in this day and age. By the time they've dropped enough explosive to keep it down they'll have taken out half of Norwich," Methos explained gently. He looked around at everyone staring at him. "I've lived here off and on for quite a few centuries now, I rather like the place the way it is."

There was a pause as everyone examined their hearts and made sure they could go through with it.

"Okay then, we'll go. Amanda, you can stay, no one will think less of you after what you did," Duncan said.

"No. I'm not going to sit at home and wait for you to not come back. I'm coming with you," Amanda decided, her face quite white but very determined.

"Um, Mac, I don't really want to say this but... this thing is an Immortal, right? And... there's six of us and one of it..." Richie said, looking embarrassed.

"You're not suggesting the rules apply to _ Dragons _ are you?" Amanda asked.

"Save us, the Boy Scout is really rubbing off on him," Methos muttered. "Tell you what, Brat, I won't tell anyone we ganged up on it if you won't. In fact I'll even tell everyone how you slew it single handed if you want. I'm a bit out of practise but I think I can conjure up a heroic verse or twenty." Methos said.

"Ah, no, that's okay." Richie replied, his face red.

"So we have a plan. Just one other thing, I don't think we should use our swords." Tali said.

"Oh-kay, we'll just take its head with cutting remarks, shall we?" Methos said.

Tali blushed. "I-I meant that we shouldn't use our _ own _ swords. The ones we like. All authorities agree something about a dragon is poisonous, or corrosive, or both. Beowulf lost one sword entirely fighting dragons, it melted all the way down to the hilt. I don't think Connor would risk his dragon sword to dragon blood, I thought the rest of you might want to use something else as well."

"Learned that from that book, did you? Lets have a look at it," Methos asked, holding out a hand. Reluctantly she handed it over.

"'The Flight of Dragons'? Tali, this is a _ children's _ book!"

"It's big and thin and it's got lots of pictures. That isn't the same thing," Tali stuck up for herself, snatching the book back.

"It isn't meant to be taken seriously. We can't base a strategy on that." Methos objected. "I bet it doesn't mention anything about dragon Immortals."

"But it does," Tali said triumphantly, flicking through the book. "Oh, he doesn't know that's what it talks about, but it is obvious once you look. Dragons have always been associated with thunder and lightning. And every dragon slayer takes its head. Supposedly he just takes it as a convenient way of proving it's dead, but since the killers would have been Immortals themselves it's no wonder there are so many other explanations given. For instance, there was a dragon at Wormsgay that was defeated when St Guthlac 'distracted it with a lightning flash, enabling the knight to reach the one vulnerable spot, a wart'. Obviously he had to think of some explanation for the association of lightning and the dragon dying. The author thinks it more likely that a dragon has only one invulnerable spot, that mask around its head, and the story got twisted. Of course the vulnerable spot was the neck, but dragon slayers didn't want that known so they made something up. That was just down the road from here. Then there was that dragon at Ludham, that slept in the cellars of an abbey. Plainly hiding out on holy ground," she said that last with an almost perfectly straight face. Adam baiting was one of her favourite pastimes. "There are more, all over Britain, and stories from all over the world. Really, the research is good."

"Besides old timer, my plan doesn't exactly depend on old legends. It's an Immortal, if we can keep it on the ground we know how to kill it," Richie said fairly calmly.

Methos sighed. "Alright. I've got some spare swords around here. The lance is just about ready, we'll get changed and then... well, maybe someone else will have killed it by then," he said mock hopefully, walking off towards the cellar.

It took them a while to get sorted out. Richie got changed into his toughest black leathers, trousers, jacket and thick gloves. They were designed to shield against fire and they would protect him if he came off the bike. He practised balancing the lance and riding his newly acquired bike up and down the road outside whilst the other Immortals dressed mostly in leather themselves. Tali had procured an actual fireman's jacket from somewhere, but she wouldn't wear animal products even for this so the rest of her clothes were somewhat more flammable. She turned on the shower and stood in it for a few minutes before they left. No one laughed.

They all chose swords that were close enough to what they were used to, then they set out.

They walked there, looping around so Richie on his bike could get set up with a clear run up the street to the mall entrance. There were plenty of abandoned and burnt out cars along the way so they figured they would pick one up closer to the site and roll it into place.

They reached a point where Richie would have a clear view and a good run up then paused awkwardly. Richie rested the lance across his knees, took his helmet off and looked around at his friends.

Tali spoke first. "Luck, Richie. And don't be slow. I'm going to get the car," She hugged him quickly.

"Luck to you. And make sure you don't get caught," Richie told her.

"She won't," Connor said, putting a protective arm around his student. "Good luck," Connor added, squeezing Richie's shoulder. Then the two left to find a good car.

Duncan stood next to him and, after a moments hesitation, hugged him. "Look after yourself, Tough Guy." he muttered before releasing him.

"Hey, you're the one that's going to be up close and personal with it," Richie joked.

"Don't worry, I'll handle it," Duncan said.

"You better," Richie told him.

"I'll be there to hold his hand, he'll be fine," Methos joked, grinning a bit weakly.

Richie grinned back in much the same way. "Well... I guess we better do this," he said, looking down at his helmet and getting ready to put it on. There was a smudge of oil across the visor.

Methos switched the big torch to his other hand and got out a handkerchief to clean it. "Here. Better be sure you can see what you're aiming at," Methos said, polishing the visor.

Richie caught his hand and stilled it. "Yeah, I mean it's not like it will take up the whole road or anything. Maybe we should arrange a signal, in case I don't notice it."

"Ha ha," Methos shook his head and dropped his hand.

Richie finished wiping the visor. "Here," he offered him back the cloth.

"No, you should keep it," Amanda said, plucking the cloth from his hand. She started to tie it around his arm. "For luck. You know a knight never used to go to joust without a lady's favour," She smirked at Methos, who gave her a hard stare back. She turned back to Richie rested one hand lightly on his cheek. "Richard, the lionhearted, charging into battle. Good luck," she told him, and kissed him gently, then stepped away.

Richie gulped a little and then put his helmet on again. "You better get going. They'll be nearly ready by now," he told them all.

"Good luck, Rich. We'll finish this then go and get very drunk," Methos told him.

"It's a date," Richie chuckled, getting hold of the lance again. The other three Immortals turned, walked away and went down a side street to the parallel street, making sure they could approach the dragon's lair without being felt.

Richie sat on his new bike, twitched his jacket and sword into place and got the lance into position. He rolled his shoulders and sat straight, alone in the firelit street, and ready.

Tali was having a small problem with the car. They found one that looked right with little difficulty, then disabled the alarm so they could roll it up the street. Connor had crossed the street to hide beside the door, very careful in case he got into range before the others were in position. Duncan and Methos could just be seen in a doorway on the other side of the street. Now Tali was sticking half way out of the car, trying to get the damned alarm to work again, closer to panic with every passing second. This was not her thing. Books were her thing. Computers were her thing. Running away was feeling more like her thing every second. This was most definitely not her thing. She could swear she could feel a breeze puffing out of the mall towards her, like a giant breathing.

She had almost got it when she heard Connor. "Tali, move!" he called across to her, and at the same moment she felt what had already hit him: the monster's vast, unclean Presence. That was the moment the alarm decided to work. Tali said a most unladylike thing and scrambled out of the car just as the dragon's head was emerging. Connor watched in horror as the dragon responded to the wailing, flashing challenge in front of it by engulfing it in a sheet of flame. That was when their careful planning went right out the window.

Tali rolled on the floor, her clothes on fire despite her best efforts. She couldn't find the breath to scream but the car did it for her, a long, wailing descending note as the alarm melted along with the rest of the vehicle. She got right side up again then froze, a small meep of terror escaping her. The dragon was right in front of her, looking right at her, and it was more terrible than anything she had imagined.

Then Connor was there, diving in between his student and the monster. He swung at it half blind, trying not to look in its eyes. Tali was jolted into movement, scrambling to her feet and running around the corner like they planned. She stopped and peeked back as soon as she got there.

Connor had looked.

Like a victim of the medusa he stood there still as stone while the ghastly mask of the dragon moved forwards, dragging its wings and body out of the cavernous doorway and singing its strange almost words as it came. Connor had not even as much chance as Amanda. Tali watched as he let his sword droop until it's point rested against the ground, the burning car behind him not even a distraction.

It did provide cover for Methos and Duncan though.

Methos got there first and instead of using his sword he brought his torch around, sending a beam into the dragon's eyes bright enough they could have seen it from the next county. The dragon reared back in pain, its singing stopped. Connor blinked and stepped back, raising his sword again ready.

Then Tali turned as the roar of the bike engine ripped towards her. The dragon heard it too and started to puff itself up to fly but it was too slow. Richie tore past her, black knight on a black bike with his white and red lance stuck out before him, aimed true at the dragon's flank.

He ran it through at ninety miles per hour, the lance getting deeply embedded in the dragon's side before the impact threw him out of his seat. The bike continued on and crunched into the dragon's back leg. Richie tumbled over and over until he came to rest right by the dragon, almost under it as it reared up and tried to claw the long pole out from its side. One wing was pinned as the lance emerged from the other side of the dragon, the other flapped loosely, its supports broken by the impacts.

Connor drove in at one side to keep the dragon from Richie as he regained his feet. Duncan attacked the neck where he could reach it and Methos went for the throat before him. Even Amanda emerged, face set and determined, standing alongside Duncan and taking long chunks out the dragon's hide. The tears were healing almost as they made them but the damage was taking its toll. There were small fires around the entry and exit points of the lance. The ends sagged as the lance broke somewhere in the middle but it still held the dragon in place.

It sagged too, no longer attempting to take to the air but rather swinging its head about to try and reach all the attackers at once and trying to back up back into its cave.

It was too weak, too injured and too slow. Richie drew his sword, barely unsteady now, and joined in the attack on its neck. Most blows bounced off the armour near the head or merely chipped the back bone but Richie got set, swung the large, heavy sword back over his head like an axe, and brought it down with all his strength. It severed the neck cleanly.

The dragon's head dropped to the floor, bounced twice, and rolled into the still burning car fire. Quickly it caught light too, the eyes replaced by twins pyres. The body sank to the ground, twitching occasionally. All the Immortals took a few steps back, winded but triumphant.

Then a familiar breeze sprung up.

All along the dragon's sides little blue lightning bolts zipped in and out. The smoke from the fire receded, replaced by a mist that gradually started to glow from within. Tali watched as the mist licked around all the Immortals present, making a fog bank under the ex dragon and then, gradually, lifting it into the air. That familiar tension filled the limbs of all five Immortals as the lightning of the dragon's Quickening licked and sparkled around its owner. They raised their swords and braced themselves for the lightning storm.

The world lit up.

Light and sound filled the air and knocked all of them flat as the Dragon simply exploded.

The blue of the Quickening was briefly replaced by an expanding ball of red fire as whatever gasses allowed the dragon to fly met the electricity around it and reacted in one final, cataclysmic flame. Buildings shook and fell, half the dirt covering the mall was blown away and the glass of the roof shattered, the ancient stones of the castle above shuddered and fell from the edges.

Then that wavefront passed and the lightning returned, still dragon shaped for a moment. It coalesced into a brilliant blue white ball, then struck out in a star pattern at each of the Immortals, connecting them, filling them, tearing them apart and renewing them at once. The Quickening.

All five screamed and quivered stretched out on the ground as the lines of lightning between and above them flicked out over and over again. It was as bright as day, then brighter. The preternatural wind whipped down the street and knocked down trees that had stood up to storm and hurricane since before the great war. The destruction was total, the light blinding, and as it reached its peak the Quickening was all any of them were aware of, self and surroundings blotted out under the ancient onslaught. Then, abruptly, it was over.

Tali dared peek out from her corner only some minutes after the light had faded. Connor, Richie, Amanda, Duncan and Methos all lay as they had fallen in the street, their charred weapons lying next to them, the blades barely stubs. They weren't moving.

Tali walked towards them very slowly, willing them to move. She paused a moment as she felt Connor's familiar presence wash over her and breathed a sigh of relief. They were still alive. But if they were alive, why weren't they moving?

She reached the five of them and saw they were all in the same state, lying there with their eyes open, but not moving. She knelt next to Connor and nudged him.

"Connor? Are you okay?" He didn't respond, and she pushed him again. She was pretty sure he was alive. She hoped he was alive. "Connor, say something. Please," she asked in a very small voice.

Connor suddenly blinked and took a long, deep breath, as if just coming back from a death. Beside him Methos coughed, and Richie groaned quietly.

Connor sat up slowly and plucked a piece of Dragon hide from the front of his coat. He offered it to Tali. "Happy Birthday."

Tali laughed, relieved. "Connor, you shouldn't have. I mean I know I wanted something unique, but I don't wear animal skins."

"Do you think this stuff makes good boots?" Richie asked, rubbing his neck and carefully removing his battered helmet.

"I don't think there's enough _ left _ for boots," opined Methos, moving over to check Richie (and the others) were alright.

"At least we've seen the last of it," Duncan sighed thankfully, hugging Amanda tight.

"Yes. If it was a male," Tali said absently, helping Connor to his feet.

Everyone stopped and looked at her. She noticed and stammered. "I... I think it was... I mean this wouldn't be a good nest... at least not without a lot of adjustment..."

Duncan and Amanda looked at each other, thinking of neat round piles of scrap, then everyone grabbed their swords and started for the rope entrance.

****

The End?

**Author's Note:**

> This is more or less set in and around Norwich, Norfolk, England, but I played with geography, history and probability as I saw fit (author = god)(why did you think I write?).
> 
> Norwich has a church for every Sunday and a pub for every day. Also things like the Buddhist centre, the relatively modern more or less Christian meeting halls and all the other faiths in Norwich and that is a lot of holy ground. Most of the pubs are also within crawling distance from each other. The University has a CrawlSoc, but the GamesSoc has longer pub crawls, is banned from more pubs and puts up reports on the web. It's a Methos kind of town, I feel.
> 
> There's this really nice book called 'The Flight of Dragons' by Peter Dickson that I used for reference on dragons. It has a nice consistent theory of how they flew and everything. And really great pictures. The little stories are from a nice map of British dragon sightings in there. Of course he thinks all the stories from later than the Bronze Age are made up, he doesn't know about the Immortal ones :-)
> 
> I know the dragon could have gone in the underground car park and not done all the digging, but then we wouldn't have the fun of a real live dragon between the early learning centre and the Disney shop.
> 
> I think I should apologise for this story. It started off as this really weird dream (starring Ramirez. I think it was a Dragonheart crossover actually). Then I started actually thinking about it and the more I thought the more fun it seemed.
> 
> Anyone that wants to write 'Dragon 2- Son of Dragon' feel free (and I have some dried frog pills I can lend you) :-)
> 
> (uh oh, just had a thought. Little baby dragon dude, intelligent and probably reassured by nearby buzzes. Pops out the shell and the first thing it sees is... Richie with his own baby dragon is an idea that is nearly cute enough to write up...)


End file.
